There are literally a million stores and dining choices along the Champs-Élysées, but today this particular store with the Citroën exhibit catches my attention:

The stairs spiral around the entire building and on each floor there is a spinning display showcasing interior designs by various vendors. This is a room sparsely decorated by Louis Vuitton in muted colors:

 

But once inside, I am anxious to get back outside…

That’s the problem with being a nomad; I just can’t stand still long enough. I still have to get to the Louvre, but it’s so hot outside I stop for something cold. We don’t see too many cars like these in the US–and certainly not parked on sidewalks:

The bottle of water is finished by the time I reach the Louvre:

For once I don’t go inside the museum so that I can take my time enjoying the grounds.  It’s easy to get caught up in the madness inside the Louvre; there’s simply too much to absorb in one afternoon session, especially with so many people jockeying for position in front of certain works of art. Wouldn’t it be great to get locked inside the museum for one night and loiter from room to room at my leisure! 

On any given day there are street performers all around Paris, and today, just outside of the Louvre on a sidewalk under a cupola (which provides incredible acoustics), there’s a soprano belting out arias from the opera Carmen. A good sized crowd builds around her. Even people who appear to be in a rush to walk around the crowd seem to slow down. It’s as if her voice has us held captive in some kind of a slo-mo time warp.  I look at the 15^th century architecture around me, take in the sweet music written in the 1800s coming out of  the mouth of someone born in the late 20^th century and think to myself: I can’t ever stop traveling!  It’s a gift that keeps on giving.